BROWN-HOODED MEW. 599 



to Stirling-. The weather had heen dull in the morning, but 

 just at this moment the sky cleared, and the sun shone out 

 bright and dazzling to our eyes, accustomed to the gloom of 

 the fog. The water was most beautifully smooth. The 

 main current run landward, and with considerable rapidity, 

 while the little bays showed a gentle eddy. All the way 

 from Queensferry to Charleston, the whole surface of the 

 Firth was sprinkled with Guillemots, Auks, Divers, and 

 especially Gulls. The latter, however, were chiefly congre- 

 gated, to an extent that one could hardly have conceived, 

 along the northern shores, over the eddies of which they 

 hovered in pursuit of the young herrings, or " Garvies," as 

 they are here called, that had been stationary there for several 

 weeks. The number seen at one glance along the shore, in 

 a space of about two miles, could not be less than a hundred 

 thousand ; but the entire number in this part of the Firth 

 probably did not fall short of at least a million. The different 

 species were easily distinguishable. Possibly nine-tenths o^ 

 the individuals belonged to the Brown-hooded kind, Larus 

 ridibundus — a most inappropriate name by the by, as its ci'ies 

 bear no resemblance to laughter. The young birds of this 

 species were comparatively few, and did not generally keep 

 apart, though sometimes small groups of them might be seen. 

 Of the remaining tenth, one-half belonged to the Common 

 Gull, Larus canus, of which there seemed to be more young 

 than old birds. The other half was composed of Herring 

 Gulls, Larus argentatus, young and old. Smaller Black- 

 backed Gulls, Larus fuscus, and Greater Black -backed Gulls, 

 Larus marinus, the latter in very small numbers. Two Feasers 

 were seen, both young birds, of a dusky colour, with the 

 wings mottled with whitish, the tail even, and therefore pro- 

 bably Lestris pomarinus. They did not attack the Gulls, 

 but fished for themselves, picking up the small herrings from 

 on wing, which it was certainly much easier to do than to 

 force the birds to disgorge them. 



The cries of these Gulls are very different. Larus ridi- 

 bundus has a harsh, softish, creaking cry, somewhat resem- 

 bling the syllables kree, kree, kreek, kirreek ; Larus canus 

 emits a softer, modulated, and lengthened cry, somewhat 



